Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 136 Just around the corner
"You said this was their slingshot?!"

"Report to the Protector General, these are indeed their trebuchets. They flew a mile away, and three of them even flew into the city and smashed a giant trebuchet!"

Inside the Guzang government office, Zhe Bu Luo was speechless as he looked at the huge stone in front of him.

Speaking of trebuchets, the Tubo army actually had catapults that could throw stones weighing sixty, seventy, or even a hundred kilograms. But the problem was that such trebuchets required dozens or hundreds of people to operate them, and the distance they could throw was not far, only about two hundred steps.

But now, the catapults in the hands of the Guiyi Army can actually throw stones weighing sixty or seventy kilograms from a distance of one mile, which shows that their catapults are indeed far superior to their own catapults.

Thinking of this, Zhe Bu Luo couldn't sit still anymore.

He originally thought that the term "Manglonghua" was an exaggeration, but now it seems that he was being conservative.

"I'm going to go find Qiliben, you guys wait here!"

Zhe Buluo turned and walked towards the inner hall. After he left, many people gathered around the stone, looking very unhappy.

After a moment, everyone raised their eyes and looked at each other, feeling unsure.

At the same time, Zhe Bu Luo also walked into the inner hall and saw Shang Moling who was hugging Hu Ji.

"Qiliben, the trebuchets of the Han slaves outside the city are probably more powerful than ours..."

Zhe Bu Luo bowed and reported with a dark face, but Shang Mo Ling snorted coldly: "I heard the sound of the catapult attacking the city, won't you fight back?"

"Our catapults... may not be able to hit them." Zhe Bu Luo gritted his teeth:

"If we counterattack rashly, they will easily catch us within the throwing distance of our trebuchets."

"Their trebuchets could throw stones weighing 60 to 70 kilograms a mile away, and many of them even hit the city."

"Judging from the power of their stone throwing, the small city outside the moat can't stop them at all. Even our city walls may not be able to stop them!"

After Zhe Bu Luo finished speaking, the expression on Shang Mo Ling's face gradually became stiff.

He reached out and patted Hu Ji's butt, and Hu Ji slowly stood up.

After Hu Ji stood up, he stood up and walked out, and Zhe Bu Luo followed closely behind him.

Soon, the two men arrived at the main hall, and the generals saluted with cold faces.

Faced with this scene, no matter how arrogant Shang Moling was, he knew that his generals were very dissatisfied with him.

Instead of immediately dealing with the generals' dissatisfaction, he came to the stone and watched.

He stretched out his hands and tried to pick her up. It was not difficult, but not easy either.

Feeling the weight in his hands, his expression finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Protector General! Protector General!"

Suddenly, there was a shout outside the main hall, and a centurion ran into the courtyard in a hurry, knelt on the ground and saluted, saying:
"Qiliben, Protector General, the city outside the west gate can no longer be defended!"

"What did you say?!"

Everyone's face changed drastically. After all, it had only been half an hour since the Guiyi Army launched the attack. How could they not be able to hold on in just half an hour?

"The walls of the small town keep collapsing. We have no way of repairing them. Even a large section of the horn wall beside the moat has collapsed!"

The captain hurried to report, and Shang Moling couldn't just sit there and wait for death, so he glanced at everyone and said, "Let's go to the west city and take a look!"

As he finished speaking, everyone followed him towards the west gate.

"Smash!"

"Boom bang bang-"

The sound of the catapults continued to be heard, and twenty rounds could be fired every hour.

Faced with the "bombardment" of fifty stones per round, the weather-beaten Guzang city wall did not have much problem, but the hastily built West Gate Town and the sheep-horn wall along the moat suffered.

The dust in the small town lasted for a long time. The soldiers completely abandoned the horse path and hid at the foot of the wall to save their lives.

If Xiaojie hadn't forbade them to retreat, they would probably have abandoned the town and fled.

Even so, the small town could not hold on for long.

Many gaps were smashed into the city wall, which was not very high to begin with. Some of these gaps were five or six feet wide, and some were seven or eight feet wide.

Although the Guiyi Army's catapults could not fix their targets, under constant attacks, there were always stones that could hit certain parts of the city wall one after another.

The walls of the small town, which were not strong to begin with, became completely broken by the massive bombardment of stones.

At this rate, the town can only last until dusk at best.

"The pig-dog Hannu, how come their trebuchets are so powerful!"

Shang Moling, who had just reached the West Gate Tower, did not need to look carefully to see that the town had become dilapidated and was not as solid as he had imagined.

In other words, the catapults of the Guiyi Army were far superior to all the catapults he had ever seen.

"Be careful, Chiliben!"

Suddenly, Zhe Bu Luo grabbed Shang Moling and pushed him down.

"Bang!!"

A shock came from the soles of his feet, and when Shang Moling stood up, he saw a stone falling from the horse path more than ten steps away from them, creating a big hole in the path.

"Their trebuchets... can they really reach that far?"

Shang Moling's face was gloomy and his eyes couldn't help but wander.

Fortunately, a round of stone throwing had just ended and the next round would take at least half a cup of tea, so he still had time to think.

However, the faces of the Guzang generals who came with him turned pale, and they were obviously frightened by the power of the Guiyi Army's catapults.

The catapults that Tubo obtained from the Tang Dynasty craftsmen were already very advanced, so in the eyes of the generals, the catapults had long reached their limit.

For example, those giant catapults they hid behind the city walls. Each catapult required hundreds of people to pull and operate it, so that a 50-pound stone could be thrown 200 steps away, and this was already the limit.

Therefore, when they saw that the catapults in the hands of the Guiyi Army could throw huge stones weighing sixty or seventy kilograms a mile away, they were shocked and terrified.

"If you can't hold it, retreat. They were able to destroy the small city and the sheep-horn wall, but it was just that they were not strong enough."

"But the Guzang under our feet is a strong city that has been repaired for hundreds of years. I want to see what they can use to break down the city wall!"

Shang Moling spoke to calm everyone, and upon hearing this, Zhe Buluo hurriedly sent someone to notify the soldiers outside the city to withdraw.

Under his gaze, the light cavalry quickly left the city and brought the news to the small town on the other side of the moat.

Not long after, the armored soldiers in the small town began to withdraw from the town one after another at a very fast speed.

Obviously, they had been frightened by the catapults of the Guiyi Army.

"It seems that the foreign soldiers in the small town have retreated?"

In front of the Guiyi Army, Zhang Huaishen narrowed his eyes, and the captain beside him heard what he said and immediately sent someone on a draft horse to get closer to check.

A moment later, the news was brought back.

"Jiedushi, the foreign troops have indeed withdrawn back into the city."

The captain reported the news to Zhang Huaishen, who chuckled and said, "Remove the counterweight and advance the trebuchet a hundred steps!"

"Yes!" the captain responded and immediately ordered the civilians to remove the counterweight of the catapult.

Soon, the heavy counterweight box was unloaded, the wooden stakes used for fixing were dug out, and the laborers laid wood in front of the catapult and pushed it little by little.

Their actions were quickly noticed by Shang Mo Ling, who turned back to look at Zhe Buluo:

"Lighten the trebuchets, and once they've secured their trebuchets, we'll strike back!"

"Yes!" Zhe Bu Luo did not refute anymore, because they really needed a counterattack to boost morale.

If the army continues to be suppressed by Zhang Huaishen like this, the morale of the army will be destroyed.

At one point, both sides began to prepare, but the scenes were different.

The Guiyi Army's catapult is a counterweight-type catapult that uses the principle of a lever, with a heavy object at one end and a stone bullet to be launched at the other end.

Before firing, one only needs to pull down the end where the ammunition is placed with a winch, pulley or manpower, and at the same time raise the other end with a heavy object. After placing the stone bullet, smash the mechanism or cut the rope, let one end of the heavy object fall, and the stone bullet will be thrown out.

This design enables the Huihui cannon to fire heavier stone bullets with a longer range and greater power.

In contrast, the Guzang catapult used manpower to pull ropes or levers to launch stone bullets, which resulted in a lower initial velocity of the stone bullets, a large number of operators, and a short throw distance.

Therefore, the catapults of the Guiyi Army were more advanced in design and use, capable of launching heavier stone bullets with a longer range and greater power.

Because of this, the Guiyi Army only needed a dozen or twenty people to easily operate a catapult, but when it came to the Guzang foreign army, it was a completely different situation.

Hundreds of people pulled the ropes, waiting for the whistle to throw stones.

"Beep--"

A shrill whistle sounded, and hundreds of people pulled the rope together, and the stones from the catapult were thrown out.

However, out of seventy catapults, only fifty-eight threw out stones, and the stones from the remaining twelve actually hit the inner city wall of Guzang.

"Asshole! Listen to the whistle and push harder!"

Shang Moling cursed loudly, then looked at Zhe Buluo. Zhe Buluo immediately ordered Xiaojieer beside him: "Hurry up and send someone to repair the city wall!"

Xiaojie'er had no choice but to send people to repair the city wall, while Shang Moling walked up to the city wall to observe the power of his own catapult.

Fifty-eight stone bullets streaked across the sky and landed randomly in front of the Guiyi Army, still twenty or thirty steps away from them.

"Reduce the weight of the stone bullets and exert force when the whistle sounds!"

Shang Moling turned around and gave orders, and at this time the Guiyi Army had also re-established their positions and began their attack at the sound of whistles.

"Smash!"

"Boom bang bang-"

The whistling stone bullets made people's scalps numb. Shang Moling quickly squatted down, and then he felt a constant vibration under his feet.

When the vibration passed, dust was already rising outside Guzang City, and dust was also rising in two places inside the city.

"Pig-dog guy!"

Shang Moling gritted his teeth, but he couldn't stop the fear in his heart.

The power of the Guiyi Army's catapults was too great. Except for some rammed earth passes and fortified cities, the rammed earth walls of other cities could not withstand it.

"If I had such a catapult back then, there wouldn't be any talk of monk Kongre and his maidservants in Helong!"

Shang Moling felt a mixture of fear, envy and desire.

"Be careful, Chiliben!"

When Zhe Bu Luo's voice sounded, Shang Mo Ling squatted down subconsciously.

The Guiyi Army's catapults were not only powerful, but also more efficient and faster.

In less than half a cup of tea, they launched another attack.

In order to save his life, Shang Moling had to take Zhe Buluo and others away from the city wall and go to the Drum Tower inside the city to wait and see.

Therefore, under their watchful eyes, the walls of Guzang West City could be said to be constantly raising dust. Every time the dust had just dissipated, it would encounter a new attack and rise again, and so on and so forth...

"Go and ask Siddhartha to come over."

On horseback, Zhang Huaishen looked at the scene in front of him, then turned around and gave instructions to the captain behind him.

The captain agreed upon hearing this, turned his horse around and returned to the camp.

After a while, Xiduoyu, who was wearing silk clothes, was invited out.

Originally his face was livid, but when he saw fifty catapults attacking and suppressing Gu Zang, his expression could not help but become moved.

"Dong Ben, what do you think of my troops?"

Zhang Huaishen showed Xiduoyu the lineup of the Guiyi Army without any reservation. Xiduoyu wanted to be tough at first, but after looking at Guzang who was forced to retreat into the city, he finally gave in and said:
"The army under the Jiedushi is very powerful. In the Helong area, I have never seen anyone with an army as powerful as yours."

"Haha..." Zhang Huaishen chuckled after hearing this, and then said: "Then may I ask Dong Ben, if I take Gu Zang and march eastward, do you think Chang Song can stop me?"

"This..." Xiduoyu looked embarrassed and stammered, unable to give a clear answer.

Seeing this, Zhang Huaishen continued to smile and said, "These days, I think you have also heard about my treatment of Mo Li, Mang Longhua and others. What do you think of my treatment?"

Zhang Huaishen has already said this, even if Xiduo Yu doesn't understand, he should understand.

"He is truly kind and benevolent." During the time when Xiduo Yu was imprisoned in Shandan by Liu Jilong, he read a lot of the few books in Shandan's collection and spoke in a more literary manner.

"If I ask you, Dong Ben, to persuade Chang Song to surrender, how confident are you?"

Zhang Huaishen got straight to the point, and Xiduo Yu responded quickly:

"That depends on the price you offer. After all, Changsong is not just mine. Besides, I have been captured for half a year. Even I don't know what Changsong's situation is now."

After seeing the power of the Guiyi Army's catapults, Xiduo Yu no longer had any expectations for Changsong.

He knew the personalities of his two sons very well. If he were no longer around, they would never listen to anything Zheduosi said.

In this case, Changsong City cannot be defended. It is better to negotiate the terms as soon as possible and preserve the wealth for the rest of your life.

Xiduoyu's thoughts were obvious, so how could Zhang Huaishen not know?

However, he was not in a hurry to give a price. Instead, he looked at Gu Zang and said, "Changsong's price will naturally be higher than Jialin and Fanhe, but not higher than Gu Zang."

"If Shang Moling surrenders, what price do you think I should give him?"

"This... naturally the higher the better." Xiduoyu thought that the higher Shang Moling's price, the higher his own would be, so he naturally wanted to ask for a higher price.

Zhang Huaishen saw through it but did not say anything. He just chuckled and ordered the captain to set up a tent on the spot, and then he and Xiduoyu made tea in the tent.

When the first pot of tea was poured into the teacup, Zhang Huaishen picked up the teacup and looked at the captain: "Tell Liu Jilong to come here."

"Yes!" The captain obeyed the order and sent armored soldiers to the east bank of Macheng River to inform Liu Jilian.

After he left, Zhang Huaishen lowered his head to drink tea and suddenly said, "Dong Ben thought, what do you think of Liu Jilong under my command?"

"Uh..." Xiduo Yu was very embarrassed when he heard this. He was captured alive by Liu Jilong. How could he evaluate Liu Jilong if he was asked to do so?

"Liu the governor is brave and resourceful. He often uses a small force to defeat a large one and anticipates the enemy's moves. He leads the troops in battle and is victorious wherever he goes."

"I have been in the army for 24 years and have never seen a general like him. He is truly a great blessing to the Jiedushi!"

Xiduo Yu praised Liu Jilian very highly. After all, with less than two thousand elite cavalry, he defeated Liangzhou, which had tens of thousands of soldiers, and made them vulnerable on all sides. If he didn't praise him, wouldn't it make the entire Liangzhou seem incompetent?
"He is really good at using a small force to defeat a large one." Zhang Huaishen agreed and said:

"Before the autumn harvest last year, Lun Kongre sent Shang Yanxin with 5,000 cavalry to chase Shang Bibi into Ganzhou. At that time, our army was not in a good position to fight with them. It was only because he personally led 300 elite cavalry to attack Shang Yanxin's army and seized the big flag that we were able to repel Shang Yanxin."

"Uh..." After hearing this, Xiduo Yu finally understood why Shang Yanxin, who was already the lord of the three states of He, Lin and Wei, did not come to help Shang Moling. It turned out that Shang Yanxin had been defeated by Liu Jilong in such a battle.

Thinking of this, Xiduo Yu felt that Changsong had even less hope.

"Smash!"

"Boom bang bang-"

The catapult positions outside the tent were still attacking Guzang. The stones poured down like crazy, smashing the walls of Guzang and raising dust.

Even so, the city walls of Guzang are still strong, simply because the city has been reinforced for hundreds of years and the rubble content in the walls is very high, so it is stronger than Jialin, Fanhe and other cities.

However, in the eyes of everyone, the fall of Guzang City was only a matter of time.

About an hour later, the sound of horse hooves came from a distance and gradually approached.

As the familiar voice sounded, Liu Jilong dismounted without waiting for the horse to stop and walked calmly towards the tent. His horsemanship was superb.

Seeing Liu Jilong, Xiduoyu's face was somewhat unnatural, so he quickly stood up and bowed to Zhang Huaishen: "Jiedushi, since there is nothing else, I will take my leave first."

"Dong Ben, please go and have a rest. We will go to Changsong soon. I will tell Dong Ben my decision before we leave."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Zhang Huaishen said nothing more and nodded in agreement with Xiduoyu's idea of leaving.

Seeing this, Xiduo Yu turned around and left. When he left the tent, he met Liu Jilong's eyes and could only smile awkwardly.

Seeing him smiling at him, Liu Jilong knew that Zhang Huaishen had succeeded in winning his heart again.

Lifting the curtain and entering the tent, Liu Jilong raised his hand and bowed: "Jiedushi."

"Please take a seat." Zhang Huaishen washed a new tea bowl and poured Liu Jilong the tea made from Shandan fried tea.

Seeing this, Liu Jilong took a seat and his eyes stayed on Zhang Huaishen's face.

Zhang Huaishen pushed the tea bowl and motioned Liu Jilong to taste the tea. Then he said, "Xiduo Yu has been persuaded by me. Do you have anything to say?"

Seeing this, Liu Jilong lost interest in drinking tea and got straight to the point:

"I will recapture Changsong, and the armor, money and food will be used by the army to attack Lanzhou in the south."

"Who does Lanzhou belong to?" Zhang Huaishen picked up the tea bowl and asked frankly.

"Guangwu belongs to you, and Wuquan belongs to me temporarily. It won't be too late to return Wuquan after we conquer Hezhou and Linzhou."

Liu Jilong explained the ownership of Lanzhou clearly, and then waited for Zhang Huaishen's response.

He is not very interested in Lanzhou.

Before the An-Shi Rebellion, Lanzhou had only about 14,000 people. Now, after years of suffering from Tibetan cholera, even if the city's population could maintain its previous level, it would probably be half Tibetan and half Han.

If he wanted to attack Helin and other states, he would need to mobilize civilians, and by then, only a small number of Han people would be left.

Although there are more than 200,000 people in Helinwei and Longnan areas, there are more Tibetans than Han people. It is already difficult for one to control the local area, and there is no need to add more burden.

Moreover, given the nature of the Tang court, even if the Guiyi Army took over the three states of Liang, Lan and Hui, they would probably be lost because of the Tang court's tactics.

At that time, I will go north to capture Lan and Hui states. It will be reasonable and no one can find fault with it.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong waited quietly for Zhang Huaishen's answer, and Zhang Huaishen did not let him wait too long.

He put down the tea bowl, thought for a moment, and then said slowly:

"The armor of Changsong belongs to you, but you can only take 30% of the food and fodder with you."

"I will take the troops from Shandan to retake Huizhou. I can leave the troops from Zhangye and Fanhe for you. After we retake Wuquan, I will let Jiu Juyan lead the troops to station in Guangwu!"

(End of this chapter)